Families Come in Every Shape and Size
by gayle dayle bayle
Summary: Roderich and Elizaveta were in a loveless marriage and divorced. Months later, they have found happiness with their new partners - and their children. (Or, that one au where everyone is really bad at communication.) EDIT: I have been informed that someone has posted this on fanmega under my username here. I do NOT have a fanmega account and I was NOT the one to upload that.)
1. Chapter 1

**Austria - Roderich**

 **Elizaveta - Hungary**

 **Katyusha - Ukraine**

 **Gilbert - Prussia**

 **Leo - Kugelmugel**

 **Lili - Liechtenstein**

"Roderich, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you. Well, two things, actually. Er, three."

"And I need to talk to you as well. I'll go first, since I've only got one thing to say. Elizaveta, I've been seeing someone."

"I feel like our relationship is based on what other people want, not what we want." A pause. "Wait, really? God, that makes my second thing so much easier to say. I've also been cheating on you. I want a divorce."

"Yes, that would make things much less complicated, long term. Let's make it quick, though. Long, drawn-divorces always looked like a hassle - and a drain on one's pockets."

"Agreed."

* * *

"Erzi," Katyusha began, winding a lock of her hair around her finger. Elizaveta was laying on her back while Katyusha was laying on her side and gazing down on her. Soft light filtered in through the window onto the bed, making the room feel a bit hazy.

"Mm, yes?"

"Is there...isthereanychancethatyoumightbepregnant?" Katyusha asked all in one breath.

All was peaceful for a moment until Elizaveta processed her words and sat up, plans for a lazy afternoon no more. "What?"

"You've been waking up sick every morning, and you mentioned that your period skipped. Twice. I know you don't like doctors, but those are like, the poster symptoms of pregnancy," Katyusha said, rubbing circles on Elizaveta's bicep.

Elizaveta slouched, not looking up from the rumpled sheets. "No, I…" she swallowed. "I was just sort of hoping you wouldn't notice," she mumbled. "I already got a couple of pregnancy tests, but… I haven't used them yet."

"Okay," Katyusha said. "Is there a reason you didn't tell me?" she paused before adding, "I'm not saying you had to or anything, but if there _was_ a reason…?"

"I don't know, it's stupid," Elizaveta muttered. "I was… afraid, I guess. That if I _am_ pregnant, you'd be mad? Like I said, it's stupid."

"Elizaveta, you know I love you, right?" Katyusha asked. "And whatever happens with this… that won't change. I need you to know that."

Elizaveta closed her eyes and nodded. "Thank you."

"I just want to help you, Elizaveta, but I can't do that if you don't tell me things," Katyusha said.

"I know," Elizaveta whispered. "Could you stay with me while I…"

"Of course."

–– –– –– –– ––

The bathroom was quiet, the kind that feels as brittle and sharp as glass.

It shattered when the timer Katyusha had set on her phone rang out. She picked it up before it managed to rattle off the sink counter and silenced it.

"Elizaveta," she said gently, touching her arm. Elizaveta started and looked at the pregnancy tests before saying what Katyusha had already seen but didn't say.

"Positive."

"Elizaveta, are you alright?" Katyusha asked, kneeling in front of her.

She pulled her knees up to her chest, balancing on the closed lid of the toilet. "I don't know. I just… I don't know." Elizaveta paused, breathing in. "I mean, I always wanted to be a mom. You know that. But obviously this wasn't – I never thought it would happen like this. Don't get my wrong, I _am_ going to keep the baby, this is just… sort of a mess."

"Well, we can work through this together, right?"

"Together… yeah, I like the sound of that," Elizaveta smiled.

* * *

Roderich's phone buzzed with a text. This was odd in and of itself, as Roderich was known to be a bit of a technophobe and the chances of him responding to a text varied wildly. If people wanted him to know something, they would call or email him.

Stranger still was the sender - one Elizaveta Héderváry. She had sent him a photo accompanied by a line of text that he didn't bother to read before clicking his phone open.

Why would she text him _now_ , Roderich wondered to himself, after so many months? Most divorced couples didn't keep in contact… right? Then again, most divorced couples also didn't split as easily as they did, something in the back of Roderich's mind whispered to him.

God, why couldn't they have been normal? Done things like everyone else? Would that have really been so bad?

Roderich shook his head and brushed those thoughts aside. Normal or not, he was happy now, and that was what mattered.

He hoped that Elizaveta was too, wherever she was and whatever she was doing right now, and whyever she had decided to text him.

He reminded himself that he still needed to actually read the text, tapping open the messaging app on his phone.

Scrolling past several other missed texts, Roderich swiped into his messages with Elizaveta. She had sent him a picture - selfie? - of herself in what appeared to be a hospital bed. She was holding two newborn infants, and looked absolutely exhausted.

The accompanying text read ' _guess who's a daddy now?_ ' with no other explanation offered.

Roderich blinked. Re-read the text. Examined the picture once more. He knew what the words meant, he knew what the picture was of, and he knew, logically, what they meant put together.

But… that had to be impossible, right? They - she, really - couldn't have possibly had - but the timing was right, and there wasn't really any other explanation, but it didn't make any _sense_ -

Roderich's breath was coming in short bursts. He realized what was happening a moment before it did and tried to stabilize his body, to no avail.

–– –– –– –– ––

Gilbert was having a good day. It was one of his days off, so he had decided to take it to do absolutely nothing. Breaks were good for you in the right amount, after all.

When he heard a loud thump come from the other room, he resigned himself to the fact that perhaps this would not be such a peaceful day after all.

"You okay?" Gilbert called out.

No response.

"Roderich?" he called out again, louder this time. Concern lodged in his throat.

This would be merely worrisome if it were anyone else, but Roderich was, well, _loud_ when he was displeased. He _liked_ complaining when anything even remotely bothersome happened to him. Dropping something - or worse, falling - would have normally elicited a string of loud curses.

Gilbert sat up, socked feet touching down to carpet. He padded into the living room, where the noise had come from, socks sch-sching over the tile of the hallway before meeting carpet once more, only for Gilbert to be met with an alarming sight indeed.

Roderich was collapsed on the floor of the living room, asleep. Or - no, he was unconscious. Had he fainted? Gilbert _knew_ that he should have been drinking more water and yet he hadn't listened and now – he noticed that his phone was unlocked in Roderich's hand.

Someone was texting him repeatedly. Roderich wasn't one for texting, or technology in general, so it was probably serious, and what if he'd received news so shocking it had made him faint? But wouldn't whoever it was on the other end at least _call_ him if it was something that could do that, something so surely serious?

Gilbert wondered if he should check it. Roderich would be mad, and reasonably so - that was a pretty major boundary he would be crossing (or at least thought he would be crossing).

He shook Roderich lightly. Gilbert had always heard that you were supposed to pour water over people that had fainted - did that really work?

Someone was trying to call Roderich. The contact name and picture were that of Roderich's ex-wife, Elizaveta Héderváry.

Gilbert shook him again, harder now. "Roderich?" he whisper-shouted - almost habitual, as he looked nearly the same as when he was asleep. Roderich was a pretty sleeper, and it always seemed a shame to disturb him. Gilbert had to remind himself that Roderich was _not_ asleep.

Gilbert's eyes slid back to the phone. The call ended, leaving him staring at Roderich's texts - _also_ with Elizaveta, he noticed.

The most recent texts were ' _I'm. So sorry._ ' and ' _I'm Erzi's girlfriend, Katyusha, and I can explain or give more detail if I can call you._ ' Gilbert assumed that the last one had been sent right before the call. Both texts had perfect grammar and punctuation, broken only by the series of question marks in the texts that followed.

Typing… typing… ' _is anybody there_ '. Flat and without punctuation or capitalization, like the sender was typing faster. They went back to typing that started and stopped every couple of seconds.

Fuck it, Gilbert decided, picking up the phone. Roderich would understand, this looked important if the other person was making such a fuss over it.

' _Sorry sndjdkd this is rods bf gil_ ' and then ' _he? fainted? got any idea whats up with that?'_

Elizaveta/Katyusha started typing. Stopped. Started again. ' _You might want to scroll up._ '

Gilbert did, until he got to the top of the message history. Roderich's phone must have been set to delete it after a certain amount of time. He and Elizaveta really _hadn't_ kept in touch. At the top there was a picture send just a few minutes ago of Elizaveta and…

Ah. Well. Roderich had probably-almost-definitely fainted from shock, then, especially given the accompanying text of ' _guess who's a daddy now?'_.

Gilbert didn't know how to feel. He was probably supposed to feel _some_ sort of way about this, but neither happy nor upset seemed appropriate. He decided to get more information before committing himself to any particular opinion.

Besides, it looked like with Roderich apparently out of commission for the time being, it would seem as if Gilbert needed to do that anyways. He would want an explanation that was at least semi-coherent when he woke up.

' _i see_ ' he tapped out. He hit send, and then ' _i think i'll take a phone call/explanation_ '.

Roerich's phone had barely started buzzing for half a second before Gilbert hit the green "accept call" button.

The other end of the line was silent, so Gilbert took it upon himself to begin.

"So, um…" shit, what was he even supposed to _say_?

" _Yeah,_ " the woman on the other end agreed. " _Do you want an explanation or…_ "

"Roderich and Elizaveta got a divorce. Elizaveta was pregnant with his children, twins, which she presumably gave birth to earlier today. Elizaveta did not tell Roderich about her pregnancy until a few minutes ago, after the twins were already born. Roderich then faints, probably from shock," Gilbert said, sounding almost bored with his monotone voice, like he was listing off items on a grocery list.

" _I…"_ the woman seemed almost at a loss for words.

"Am I wrong?" he asked.

" _No, just… no, you are correct, but - but surely you have questions,_ _something_ _?_ "

"Hold on, I'm thinking," Gilbert said. That was a lie. He was not.

Roderich groaned, attempting to sit up.

"You know what, I'll get back to you on that," Gilbert said hastily, dropping Roderich's phone on the coffee table.

"Roddy, hey hey you're awake! That was kinda fast, aren't people that faint usually supposed to be out for longer? Sorry, you probably don't care about that. Um, you're a father now! Congratulations, I guess?" Gilbert rambled.

Roderich pulled his knees up, cradling his head between them. He held up an index finger, and Gilbert couldn't tell if he was asking for a moment or telling him to shut up. He then waved his hand in a "now continue" motion.

Gilbert hesitated for a moment, but then picked up the phone again. "Sorry, Roderich just, uh - would 'woke up' be the right term?"

" _Oh! That's good, right?_ "

"Um, I guess I have one question – why did Elizaveta not tell Roderich that she was, um…" really, Gilbert thought, he shouldn't have said that. Now he felt like some entitled and probably sexist asshole.

"It's okay, Gilbert, you can say 'pregnant'," Roderich muttered. "Give me the phone."

"Are you sure you're al-"

"Give me my phone, Gilbert," Roderich snapped. Gilbert complied.

"I apologize for my partner's question," he said into the phone. "With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

" _Ah - Katyusha, sorry I should have said that. Um, Elizaveta's asleep right now, sorry, and you shouldn't apologize for Gilbert's question it's – Elizaveta said you would probably want to know, and you deserve to,_ " the woman rushed out, starting out apologetic and uncertain but ending sounding as if she'd be glaring at Roderich had they been in the same room.

"It's quite easy to guess, really," Roderich said. "Aside from our… relationship, which is poor to say the least, I never was particularly open to even the idea of having children with her, and… well, in short, I can't particularly blame her."

" _Well, she said it in a much ruder way – I believe she called you a 'self-absorbed asshole who could barely be trusted to take care of himself'? – but I do believe that was the_ _gist_ _of it_ ," Katyusha said.

A smile tugged on the edge of Roderich's lips. "That most certainly sounds like her."

Gilbert stayed quiet – this wasn't his conversation to partake in.

" _Listen, Elizaveta's asleep right now, but I think you really should meet up with her and talk. Not even about the kids, not if you don't want to, but to me it's pretty obvious that you two have a lot of problems you need to talk out_."

Roderich sighed and closed his eyes. "That would probably be for the best, yes."

" _I'll call you back when Elizaveta wakes up_ , _then,_ " Katyusha said, hanging up.

Roderich dropped his phone and raised his head, looking at Gilbert.

He knew what Roderich was doing right now, the reason he acted so calm. A habit of his that Gilbert was starting to pick up on, Roderich had a tendency to shove his emotions to the side when they were confusing or "irrational". The problem was, more often than not, he would forget to come back to them and sort them out.

Finally, Gilbert looked away and cleared his throat. "I'll get you some water."

* * *

Elizaveta walked into the small coffee shop and Roderich stood up, not sure what to do. How exactly was one supposed to greet your ex-wife to talk about the children you apparently had?  
She held the door open for a woman behind her with short white-blonde hair held back by a headband, and the way they look at each other – they look happy, Roderich realizes, actually happy.

There's a stirring in his chest, something he can't quite place. Not jealousy, not at all, but – realization, perhaps? This is what Elizaveta (and, if he was being honest, he himself) could have had from the start, if Roderich hadn't given in to the pressures of their parents and proposed to her.

Roderich realizes he's been staring only after Gilbert nudges him. "That them, Roddy?" he asks, quiet. He's being serious for once.

He nods. Elizaveta and the woman who Roderich assumes is her girlfriend walk over. "Hello Roderich," she says, sounding almost…ashamed? That wasn't a word he had even known to be in her vocabulary.

"Elizaveta," he nods.

It feels almost normal.

It feels almost normal except for the baby carriers held in their hands, the fact that none of this is normal at all.

"I don't believe I've met your girlfriend," he says. Roderich knows he's dodging the subject at hand, nestled inside the baby carriers, asleep.

The blonde woman smiles. "You can call me Katyusha. Erzi, have you met Gilbert…?"

The two of them had spoken briefly on the phone, Roderich had been informed.

Elizaveta didn't even look at Gilbert. "We knew each other in high school."

Gilbert had been mostly silent up till now, but looked at Elizaveta briefly – probably contemplating whether or not it was worth it to point out that they had spent an awful lot of time trying to beat the crap out of each other, and that statement didn't even begin to cover it. He must have decided against it, for he didn't say anything.

Roderich realized he was still standing, and sat down. Elizaveta and Katyusha took the two remaining seats at the table, placing the baby carriers on the table.

He doesn't know where to look or how to feel. "I'm not quite sure what to say, Elizaveta, really."

She looks like she expects to be yelled at.

"I'm not mad at you, Elizaveta. I hate to say it, but I understand your reasons for not telling me. But texting, really?"

Thats what does it. Elizaveta snorts, laughing hard enough that she has to lean against the table. "God Roderich, you're such an old man."

Gilbert smiles.

"But seriously. You're not mad?" Elizaveta asks, fidgeting. She's nervous, Roderich realizes. "I mean… this is pretty big. And I - I kept it from you."

Roderich closes his eyes. Sighs. "No no, its-" he was going to say fine. It wasn't. "I have a horrible track record with children, and we were just divorced. There weren't any good options."

Elizaveta was staring at the table now. "Thank you for understanding." She looked up. "Do you want to be in their lives at all?"

Fuck, Roderich hadn't meant to sound so harsh. "No, I-" his throat was suddenly tight, and he found it hard to breathe.

"I don't blame you," Elizaveta murmured. Gilbert's eyes cut into him, confused.

"That's not – no, I do want to be in their lives, but only if you'll let me," Roderich said, fumbling to fix his mistake.

Elizaveta smiled. "I think that I would like that very much."

* * *

"Mom, can I ask you a question?" Leo said abruptly.

It was a peaceful night. Lili was sleeping over at a friend's house. Katyusha and Gilbert had elected to quietly arrange to spend the evening with their respective siblings. Roderich had made the short trip over to the Héderváry-Ovcharenko household, citing his own being too quiet for even his tastes. In reality, he just wanted to spend an evening with one of his best friends and child, but he didn't need to say it for the sentiment to be appreciated.

"Of course, Leo, go ahead," Elizaveta said, glancing up momentarily from her phone. She expected it to be a fairly simple query, nothing hard to answer.

"Were Lili and I mistakes?" they asked dully, as if inquiring after the weather. Leo swung their legs, kicking the couch. It was a childish action, more suited for a six year old than a fourteen year old, same as (in their mind) the question they had just asked.

Roderich was the first to react. "Of course you and your sister aren't mistakes, Leo, why in the world would you ask that?"

"Sorry. Please don't be mad." They shrank in on themself.

"Leo, we're not upset with you," Elizaveta said, kneeling in front of them and wrapping their hands in her own. "We just want to understand. What brought this on? Was someone bullying you?"

"No, Mom, nothing like that. I've just been thinking, that's all," Leo said. They weren't stupid - they knew that couples didn't usually divorce as quickly and painlessly as his parents had if they _knew_ that one of them was pregnant.

Roderich sat down on Leo's right, unsure of what to do with himself. He wanted to help, he really did, but emotions had never been his strong suit. Eventually he settled for wrapping his arm around Leo, which must have been the right thing to do because they leaned into the touch, seeming to become a little less tense.

"Sweetie, you and Lili were surprises, for sure, but you weren't - you weren't _mistakes_. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise," Elizaveta said, rubbing Leo's hands.

They nodded, and then to everyone's surprise and horror started sobbing loudly. Elizaveta and Roderich looked at each other, taken aback and more than a little panicked.

"You guys know that I love you, right?" Leo sniffed. "Lili too, even if she's not here to say it. And we're so thankful that you're both in our lives, even though we probably sort of screwed them up and we haven't always made it easy on you guys and I'm sure you sometimes regret it and, and, and," Leo stopped when Elizaveta pulled them into a hug. They slid to the floor, Elizaveta rubbing their back rhythmically.

"Leo, you know," Roderich started out, still sitting on the sofa and not knowing where to look. "After you and Lili were born, all of us - Gilbert and Katyusha and Elizaveta and I - met up, and after formalities were conducted, Elizaveta only asked me one thing," here he paused, breathing in. "She asked if I wanted to be in your lives at all. I said yes, obviously. Gilbert and I had talked it over beforehand. And even though you and Lili haven't always made it easy, we weren't expecting it to be, and - and I've never once regretted my decision."

Elizaveta tugged on Roderich's sleeve, motioning for him to join the hug. He dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around the two of them, albeit a bit awkwardly.

"I'm sorry we can't give you a normal family," Elizaveta whispered.

"We wouldn't have it any other way," Leo choked out.

"This sounds dumb, but thank you for telling us this," Elizaveta said quietly. Leo nodded.

A few moments passed. "Leo, is this getting awkward for you at all?" Roderich asked.

Their only response was to hug the two of them even tighter than before.

* * *

 **A/N: Howdy! sorry for being practically dead on here, this is something I've been working on for a while, hope y'all like it!**


	2. Chapter 2

"You really think that locking them in the guest room until they talk their shit out's gonna work?" Gilbert asked skeptically, awkwardly cradling Lili to his chest.

Katyusha shrugged. "It always worked on my siblings, so I don't see why it wouldn't work on them."

"Come on, let's give them some privacy," she urged, motioning towards her living room. "This room isn't soundproof if you're standing right in front of the door."

Katyusha laid down on a chair, legs flung over the back of it and head where her feet would normally be.

Gilbert was on the floor, Lili on his chest.

"Gilbert, do you have something you'd like to say?" Katyusha asked, sounding for all the world like an entirely too patient kindergarten or preschool teacher talking to a child who was hiding something instead of someone asking her equal what he had on his mind.

Gilbert ignored her tone and answered seriously. "I don't know...I guess it's just that, like, Eliza spent so much of highschool angry, just… so mad at almost everything, and I don't know, I guess it's just hard for me to imagine her being a parent."

Katyusha looked like she was about to say something, but kept quiet. She could tell that Gilbert wasn't done yet.

"I mean, I think I've always sorta known that Eliza wanted kids, but as the guy she always tried to start shit with, I guess I never took her very seriously," Gilbert paused and closed his eyes. "I mean, not that I blame her or anything for trying to start shit with me. I was a really annoying kid, and I probably started as many fights with her as she did with me."

Katyusha mad a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat.

"I find it hard to believe that Elizaveta was ever anything like you describe," Katyusha admitted. "We were all different in high school, but Eli's just… she's just so nice and caring and perfect and…"

Gilbert laughed. "Oh dang, Katyusha, that's kinda gay, dontcha think?"

She laughed too, and then baby Lili joined in with happy-sounding baby noises. "Just a little gay, yes," Katyusha agreed.

"Nah but really," Gilbert said, "I never knew Eliza that well, but even I can tell that it's like there's this weight that she was carrying that isn't there anymore."

"I could say the same about your Roderich," Katyusha said. "It's like he's gone from being some uptight rich kid who's more about his clothes than being a person to being-"

"-to being _Roderich_ , yeah," Gilbert agreed. "Wait, you went to our high school?"

"Yeah. You wouldn't have noticed me though, I was pretty quiet and didn't really have any friends or anything."

Gilbert hummed. Even now, Katyusha was someone he wouldn't pay much attention too if she wasn't pointed out to him. In high school, he probably wouldn't have even looked her way.

"Sucks that you're right about that, in the first bit. You're nice, you know that?" Gilbert said.

"Thanks. You're not as bad as I thought either."

–– –– –– ––

"So, guess we're locked in here until we sort ourselves out, huh," Elizaveta said.

"Yep," Roderich agreed.

Elizaveta halfheartedly kicked the door of her guest bedroom before falling backwards onto the bed. "You know, we're considering turning this into one of the kid's rooms when they get too old to share," she half mumbled into silence.

Roderich leaned against the wall and looked at her. "You know Eliza, this is probably the first time in a long time I've seen you happy. I'm… glad, really, that someone could give you what I never could."

Elizaveta sighed, staring at the ceiling. "'S'not your fault, Rod. We just… tried too hard to be something we weren't, I guess. I'm just as guilty as you."

"Are you happy, Rod?"

Roderich considered the question for a minute. "Yes, I suppose I am. I am content, if nothing else."

"Good. That's good. I'm happy you're happy." Elizaveta sighed again. "You know, that whole not keeping in contact thing was really dumb as fuck. Why'd we do that? It made everything worse. Don't answer that."

"If it's worth anything, I'm… I'm sorry for making you feel like you couldn't tell me. I knew you wanted kids, I just…" Roderich closed his eyes and slid to the floor, head tilted towards the ceiling. "I just couldn't bear the thought of raising kids in a household like mine, with parents who didn't love each other or - or _them_ either. I couldn't… I couldn't do that to a child."

"We're _not_ gonna do that, though," Elizaveta said confidently. "We're all going to talk through our issues before they get too big for words, and we're going to be good fucking parents, and so what if it's not gonna be easy we're gonna do our best and we're gonna do a damn good job of it!"

"I certainly hope so."

Elizaveta sat up and then flopped back down onto the bed, limbs splayed out. "...do you think this is enough to appease Katyusha and Gilbert?"

"Would it kill you to lay down for a few minutes, Elizaveta? You look tired," Roderich said. "If you're going to take care of your children, you need to start by taking care of yourself."

" _Our_ children, Roderich, _our_ children," Elizaveta reminded him. "You're going to be there for them if they need you, right? Help...help raise them if you want."

Roderich's mouth felt suddenly dry. Responsibility terrified him, young children terrified him, fatherhood terrified him, and yet -

"You're not gonna have...you're not gonna have to do it alone, Roddy, y'know that, right? You're gonna… you're gonna have me 'n' Kat and… and I guess Gilbert…" even as she talked, it sounded as if Elizaveta was drifting off to sleep despite her best efforts. She must have been more tired than Roderich realized. If he knew her at all, he would bet that she had been staying up so that Katyusha could sleep, and then not resting nearly enough during the day.

"You know, I think some people would be surprised to find that you're the more eloquent between the two of us," he said.

"'S'cuz I don't waste time trying to make it sound all pretty," Elizaveta retorted, reconfiguring her position so that she would be more comfortable.

"Just go to sleep," Roderich scolded gently.

"When you start eating and drinking enough!"

It was a familiar exchange, repeated dozens of time over the course of their lives. Despite everything, it hadn't changed. Maybe, Roderich though, they should see what else they could keep.

Do things their _own_ way, instead of how other people would want.

* * *

 **A/N: leo isnt shown here bc leo's asleep, dw. Please leave a review if you liked it :^)!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ladonia - Lars Oxenstierna**

 **FACS Class - Family and Consumer Sciences class. Basically home ec but you learn about taxes.**

 **The twins are about 14 here.**

Lili hummed thoughtfully as she turned the pages of her book, glancing across the room at her sibling every few moments. They were sitting on their bed, chewing on the eraser of a pencil. Leo had _said_ that they were drawing, but it didn't look like that was happening, so Lili decided that it would be alright to disturb them.

"So, Leo, I met this boy…" she began, keeping her eyes firmly glued to the page. "He's smart, likes art and coding, rather funny if you ask me. His name is Lars."

Leo's entire body grew still. Slowly, they set their pencil to the paper of their sketchbook, but didn't start drawing. "Oh? Is this a crush I hear, sister dearest?"

Only then did Lili look up, a smirk pulling at her lips. "Of course not, my most darling sibling. He's not really someone I'd be interested in. He's much more _your_ type, if anything."

"I'm afraid that you're mistaken, Lili. I've never talked to this Lars person that you're talking about," Leo said carefully.

"Because you rush out of the room whenever he walks in," Lili retorted.

"So? I don't have to talk to anyone that I don't want to, and this has worked perfectly fine so far!" Leo said, puffing their cheeks out. Their face was slowly turning a blotchy redish-pink.

"The only reason you don't _talk_ to him, Leo, is because you practically run away every time you see him!" Lili said in exasperation.

Leo sputtered. "Wha-Who I do and don't talk to is absolutely none of your business!" they insisted.

"It is when you're so _obviously_ pining for him," Lili contradicted.

"I am not _pining_ for anyone, let alone _Lars Oxenstierna_ ," Leo declared.

"Really? Because I'm pretty sure he's _pining_ for you," Lili said, quirking an eyebrow. "He asked if I knew if you liked anyone, seeing as I'm your sister and all. Seemed pretty embarrassed about the whole affair, if you ask me."

Leo got very quiet. "Okay, I lied, but only just a little bit. I'm most certainly not _pining_ for anyone, because 'pining' is a stupid word that comes right out of one of the trashy romance novels that Papa pretends he doesn't read. And I am _not_ a trashy romance novel," Leo paused, either to collect themselves or for dramatic effect. "However, if I _had_ to date _anybody on the planet_ , it would be Lars."

"Only if I _had_ to date someone though. I am perfectly fine by myself, thank you very much!" Leo added when they saw Lili beginning to look smug.

"Whatever you say, Leo," she said. "But I told him that he could find you at art club after school, so I think he's going this week."

Leo sighed dramatically and collapsed backwards onto their bed, sprawling out. "You are the absolute worst, you know that?" they said. After a moment's hesitation, they tossed their pencil across the room, aiming half-heartedly at her head.

Leo considered their options. They could spend a quiet afternoon with their sister, but that was rather unappealing after the mortification of the previous conversation.

"Any crushes for you?" they asked.

"Nope!" Lili answered cheerfully, flipping a page in her book. Leo groaned internally, despairing at the fact that it was nearly impossible to get under their sister's skin.

"Isn't there that one kid, Nikolai or whatever his name is?" Leo pressured.

"Huh? Oh, he's nice I suppose," Lili agreed. "We have the same FACS class. We usually partner up for cooking assignments, and we help each other with homework. But if I went around having a crush on every nice person that offered to help me in English, then they would never end."

Leo abandoned that approach. Lili didn't respond well to heckling, anyways.

"Hey, did you hear about that controversy with the pink internet person?" Leo asked. Lili looked almost surprised at the sudden change of topic, but then shook her head.

"Apparently they got a bunch of their followers to give them nearly a thousand dollars, just to eat a bunch of crayons," Leo said, already grinning at a joke that they had yet to tell.

Lili hummed. "I mean, that's pretty weird, but why does it matter?"

"I dunno. I mean, imagine getting paid to eat weird stuff, right?" Leo said, almost laughing. "If I got a thousand dollars every time _I_ ate a crayon, I'd be rich!"

Lili rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't be very rich after paying for all of the health issues I'm sure drinking paint would cause."

"Hey!" Leo objected. "It was one time, okay? I drank paint _one time_ , and that was an accident! And it was non-toxic paint, too, it doesn't do anything to you if you drink it!"

"Leo, just because you _can_ drink something doesn't mean you _should_ ," Lili chastised.

"You think that's gonna stop me?" Leo challenged.

"If you had any sense, it would," Lili said, sighing rather dramatically. Leo thought she sounded like their Papa when she did that. No, not like their Papa - like their Mom when she was imitating their Papa.

"If you give me five dollars, I will eat my pencil."

" _No_ , Leo."

Their banter continued until their mother called them down for dinner. It smelled delicious - their mothers' home cooking was always a nice break from the mess that one was sure to find in the Edelstestein's kitchen.

The two of them sat down at the table, joining their mothers.

"Hey," Elizaveta greeted. "I haven't seen you two, where have you been?"

"In Leo's room!" Lili supplied cheerfully. "They've been working on something."

This was, indeed, true. Leo was working on a large, abstract-looking painting that they wouldn't let their mothers see. Whenever Lili questioned them on it, they said that it would all make sense when the painting was finished.

"Is it the one that you won't let us look at?" Katyusha asked playfully.

The tips of Leo's ears turned red. They didn't like keeping secrets from anyone, and Katyusha was the sort of person where you simply couldn't help but tell her almost everything.

"Anything exciting happen today?" Elizaveta asked. It was a bit of a joke question, seeing as the same thing happened at school every day, and it was usually answered with a made up event, like a dragon flying into the math classes, or time traveling during history class.

Lili looked at Leo. They looked at her. A split second before she opened her mouth, they realized what she was going to say, and tried and failed to cover her mouth with their hand.

"Leo has a crush!"

 **A/N: Thank you for reading! Please comment!**


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